Firearm detecting luggage

ABSTRACT

A system and method are described for alerting a user that an area they have entered or are about to enter has a restriction on carriage of a firearm. Methods include detecting the presence of a firearm within an intelligent article of luggage, detecting the current geographic location, comparing the current geographic location to a set of restricted carriage locations, and presenting an alert.

RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation, and claims priority benefit, withregard to all common subject matter, of earlier-filed U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 15/428,834, filed Feb. 9, 2017, now U.S. Pat. No.9,984,552, issued May 29, 2018, and entitled “FIREARM DETECTING LUGGAGE”(“the '552 Patent”). The '552 Patent is a non-provisional applicationand claims priority benefit, with regard to all common subject matter,of earlier-filed U.S. Provisional Patent Application Nos. 62/294,066,filed Feb. 11, 2016; 62/318,522, filed Apr. 5, 2016; 62/338,153, filedMay 18, 2016; 62/339,190, filed May 20, 2016; 62/378,284, filed Aug. 23,2016; and 62/439,274, filed Dec. 27, 2016, all entitled“PRESENCE-DETECTING CONCEALED CARRY BACKPACK.” The identifiedearlier-filed provisional applications are hereby incorporated byreference into the present application in their entirety.

BACKGROUND 1. Field

Embodiments of the invention are broadly directed to systems and methodsof alerting a user that they have or are about to carry sensitive cargo,such as a firearm, into a location with restricted carriage of suchcargo. More specifically, embodiments of the invention sense thepresence of a firearm within an article of luggage, compare the system'scurrent location to a set of restricted carriage locations, and providean alert when appropriate.

2. Related Art

Carriage of sensitive cargo, such as a firearm, into a location thatrestricts the carriage of such an object can have very seriousconsequences. Often, a firearm owner fails to realize that they arecurrently in possession of a firearm, perhaps because the article ofluggage containing the firearm is, at times, also used to carry othernon-sensitive cargo. For example, an owner may use a particular duffelbag for a business trip, forgetting that a firearm had been left insidefrom a previous trip to a gun range. Another common cause of violationof carriage restrictions is when an owner of a firearm is unaware that aparticular location has such restrictions. For example, an owneraccustomed to carrying a handgun at all times may not realize that aparticular business owner bans possession of firearms within theirstore.

The penalty for such a mistake can vary widely from minor embarrassmentto severe legal ramifications. What is needed is a system to present analert of a current or impending violation of a restricted carriagelocation for an article of luggage containing sensitive cargo such as afirearm.

SUMMARY

Embodiments of the invention provide systems and methods of producing analert related to carriage of sensitive cargo, such as a firearm. A firstembodiment of the invention is directed to a method of producing analert of a restricted carriage condition on a system including anelectronic device and an article of luggage configured to contain afirearm. The method includes establishing a communication link betweenthe device and luggage, acquiring a status of the luggage, andtransmitting the status to the device. The electronic device may thenpresent an alert if the status and a comparison of the sensed geographiclocation of the system to a set of restricted carriage locationsindicate a restricted carriage condition. The set of restricted carriagelocations may be a pre-generated list and/or custom input by a user.

A second embodiment of the invention is directed to a method ofproducing an alert of a restricted carriage condition on a systemincluding an electronic device and an article of luggage configured tocontain a firearm. The method includes the steps of detecting a presenceof a firearm, establishing a communication link with the electronicdevice, transmitting a firearm presence indication via the communicationlink, determining a restricted carriage condition, and presenting analert of the restricted carriage condition. The determination of therestricted carriage condition may include the steps of accessing a setof restricted carriage locations and comparing it to the geographiclocation of the system.

A third embodiment of the invention is directed to a system configuredto produce a firearm presence indication including an article of luggagewith a firearm compartment, a sensor module, a communication module, anda control unit. The system may further include a power source and/ormemory unit. The sensor module is coupled to the firearm compartment todetect the presence of a firearm contained therein. The control unit isoperable to transmit a firearm presence indication via the communicationmodule.

This summary is provided to introduce a selection of concepts in asimplified form that are further described below in the detaileddescription. This summary is not intended to identify key features oressential features of the claimed subject matter, nor is it intended tobe used to limit the scope of the claimed subject matter. Each of theabove embodiments may include further hardware, components,applications, or steps not explicitly described. Other aspects andadvantages of the invention will be apparent from the following detaileddescription of the embodiments and the accompanying drawing figures.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIGURES

Embodiments of the invention are described in detail below withreference to the attached drawing figures, wherein:

FIG. 1 is an illustration of an article of luggage in communication withone or more electronic devices and a remote database;

FIG. 2A depicts an article of luggage formed as a backpack that may beutilized in embodiments of the invention;

FIG. 2B depicts an article of luggage formed as a unit of apparel thatmay be utilized in embodiments of the invention;

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of elements that may comprise an article ofluggage in embodiments of the invention;

FIG. 4 illustrates a firearm being inserted between collapsible walls;

FIG. 5 illustrates an exemplary alert that may be provided inembodiments of the invention;

FIG. 6 is an illustration of a restricted carriage location, a nearbyroad, and two example surrounding threshold proximities;

FIG. 7 is a first flow diagram of steps that may be performed inembodiments of the invention; and

FIG. 8 is a second flow diagram of steps that may be performed inembodiments of the invention

The drawing figures do not limit the invention to the specificembodiments disclosed and described herein. The drawings are notnecessarily to scale, emphasis instead being placed upon clearlyillustrating the principles of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The following detailed description references the accompanying drawingsthat illustrate specific embodiments in which the invention can bepracticed. The embodiments are intended to describe aspects of theinvention in sufficient detail to enable those skilled in the art topractice the invention. Other embodiments can be utilized and changescan be made without departing from the scope of the invention. Thefollowing detailed description is, therefore, not to be taken in alimiting sense. The scope of the invention is defined only by theappended claims, along with the full scope of equivalents to which suchclaims are entitled.

In this description, references to “one embodiment,” “an embodiment,” or“embodiments” mean that the feature or features being referred to areincluded in at least one embodiment of the technology. Separatereferences to “one embodiment,” “an embodiment,” or “embodiments” inthis description do not necessarily refer to the same embodiment and arealso not mutually exclusive unless so stated and/or except as will bereadily apparent to those skilled in the art from the description. Forexample, a feature, structure, act, etc. described in one embodiment mayalso be included in other embodiments, but is not necessarily included.Thus, the current technology can include a variety of combinationsand/or integrations of the embodiments described herein.

Embodiments of the invention provide systems and methods of producing analert of a restricted carriage condition on a system including anelectronic device and an article of luggage configured to contain afirearm. Embodiments of the invention may compare a sensed geographiclocation of the system to a set of locations in which carriage of afirearm is restricted. Embodiments may further detect a status of theluggage, such as a presence of the firearm or an active state of theluggage. Based on the detected status and comparison of the geographiclocation of the system to the set of restricted locations, an alert maybe presented informing a user of a restricted carriage condition.Further embodiments may present an alert based on a removal of thefirearm or a loss of a communication link between the article of luggageand the electronic device.

Turning to the figures, and particularly FIG. 1, an exemplary system 100is illustrated, including an article of luggage 102, one or moreelectronic devices 104, and a remote database 106. The article ofluggage 102 is illustrated as a backpack in FIG. 1, but mayalternatively be formed as a briefcase, computer case, suitcase, gunrange bag, purse, handbag, trunk, gun case, or any other type ofportable luggage capable of containing sensitive cargo such as afirearm. In some embodiments, article of luggage 102 may alternativelybe formed as a unit of apparel, such as a jacket, vest, or pair ofpants. The article of luggage 102 may have one or more internal orexternal docking ports for carrying, connecting with, and/or chargingother electronic security devices. In embodiments, the article ofluggage 102 may have one or more control input mechanisms, such as akeypad or activation switch, integrated into its structure.

Regardless of form, in embodiments of the invention article of luggage102 includes a firearm compartment 108 that is configured to contain afirearm. The firearm compartment 108 may be sized, shaped, or otherwisebe provided in with physical structures that contain or secure afirearm. The firearm compartment 108 may include structures securing oneor more firearms in place, such as straps, clasps, or slots. As furtherdiscussed below, the firearm compartment 108 may include one or morefasteners to close the compartment, secure a firearm, and/or indicate tothe system 100 that a firearm is present.

In some embodiments, article of luggage 102 communicates with externalcomputing devices such as an electronic device 104 or remote database106 using any suitable number of communication networks and wired and/orwireless links (e.g., a mobile communication network, wired and/orwireless links) in conjunction with any suitable number and type ofcommunication protocols. In embodiments, one or more of electronicdevices 104 may be implemented as a handheld computing device (e.g.,smartphone, tablet, laptop, a smart watch, PDA, pager, electronic fob,or a bracelet), or any other suitable type of computing device capableof wired and/or wireless communication, while one or more of remotedatabases 106 may be implemented as one or more cloud data services, webservers, or electronic filestores.

An example of a backpack that may be provided in embodiments of theinvention as an article of luggage 102 is illustrated in FIG. 2A,including a firearm compartment 108 conveniently positioned for quickand comfortable access to the firearm even while the backpack is beingworn. Another example of an article of luggage, provided as a unit ofapparel, is illustrated as the jacket of FIG. 2B. Like the backpack ofFIG. 2A, the jacket includes a firearm compartment 108 convenientlypositioned for quick and comfortable access to the firearm even whilethe jacket is being worn. These examples are not intended to belimiting—the article of luggage may be provided as any of the exampleslisted above and the firearm compartment 108 may be positioned at anylocation on the luggage.

In embodiments, the firearm compartment 108 may be positioned such thata user may quickly and easily remove a firearm without removing thearticle of luggage 102. The compartment may be accessible from the rightor left side, top or bottom, or any other position on the luggage. In anembodiment, the firearm compartment 108 may be positioned near thebottom of the article of luggage to keep its weight low, stabilizing thebackpack.

FIG. 2A illustrates a location of the compartment 108 in a backpack. Thebackpack includes an opening in which the compartment is removablylocated. The opening, and therefore the compartment, is accessible fromeither side of the backpack. The opening is selectively openable andclosable via a zipper, magnets, buttons, or other securing mechanism.The compartment 108 is removable from the opening. As best shown in FIG.4.

Additionally, the firearm compartment may be configured to conceal thepresence of a firearm in firearm compartment 108. For example, anarticle of luggage formed as a coat may have a firearm compartmentintegrated into the inner lining of the coat, positioned under an arm. Afirearm compartment may be hidden from the perspective of others byfabric, patterns, or colors.

In some embodiments, the firearm compartment 108 is a self-containedpocket, separable from the rest of the article of luggage 102. It may beheld in place by a fastener such as a zipper, or may simply rest withina larger pocket. Portions of the sensor module 110 may be integratedinto the removable firearm compartment, or may be disconnected uponremoval of the compartment. Similarly, fasteners used to close firearmcompartment 108, as discussed below, may be removed with a removablefirearm compartment or left behind with the remainder of the article ofluggage 102.

A communication network utilized by embodiments of the invention mayinclude any suitable number of nodes, or additional wired and/orwireless networks. For example, a communication network may beimplemented with any suitable number of base stations, landlineconnections, internet service provider (ISP) backbone connections,satellite links, public switched telephone network (PSTN) connections,local area networks (LANs), metropolitan area networks (MANs), wide areanetworks (WANs), or any suitable combination of local and/or externalnetwork connections. The communication network may be utilized inembodiments to facilitate communications between any of the article ofluggage 102, electronic device(s) 104, and/or remote database(s) 106.

FIG. 3 illustrates a block diagram of elements comprising an article ofluggage 102 in embodiments of the invention. The locations, shapes,sizes, and interconnections of each element as illustrated in FIG. 3 aremeant only for example. In embodiments of the invention, any particularelement listed may be shaped or positioned differently, or may be absentaltogether.

As seen in FIG. 3, an article of luggage 102 comprises a firearmcompartment 108 coupled to a sensor module 110. Sensor module 110 isoperable to detect a presence of the firearm in the firearm compartment108. A communication module 112 is operable to establish a communicationlink with electronic device 104, an application running on an electronicdevice 104, and/or a remote database 106. In embodiments, communicationmodule may operate using a near-field communication scheme such asBluetooth™ or RFID. Alternatively, the communication module mayestablish a communication link with an electronic device through use ofa wireless Internet modem. These examples are not meant to be limiting;any communication protocol or scheme by which a communication link maybe established between the article of luggage 102 and electronic device104 is intended for inclusion within embodiments of the invention.Communication links between article of luggage 102 and electronic device104 may include any sort of intermediary element, such as a satellite,router, or another portable electronic device.

FIG. 3 further illustrates a control unit 114, which may comprise anysuitable type and/or number of processors, such as a host processor ofarticle of luggage 102. To provide additional examples, a processorcomprising control unit 114 may be implemented as an applicationspecific integrated circuit (ASIC), an embedded processor, or a centralprocessing unit (CPU) associated with article of luggage 102. Anycombination of one or more processors is intended for inclusion ascomprising control unit 114 in embodiments of the invention.

Processors comprising control unit 114 may be configured to operate inconjunction with one or more of sensor module 110, communication module112, and a memory unit 118 to process and/or analyze data, to store datato memory unit 118, to retrieve data from memory unit 118, to receive,process, and/or interpret signals from sensor module 110, to generate afirearm presence indication, or to receive data from and/or send data toone or more of electronic devices 104 and/or remote database 106 viacommunication module 112. Processor(s) comprising control unit 114 maybe configured to communicate with other components of FIG. 3 via one ormore wired and/or wireless interconnections, such as any suitable numberof data and/or address buses, for example. These interconnections arenot shown in FIG. 3 for purposes of brevity. Article of luggage 102 mayinclude a power source 116 such as a battery, which may be rechargeablevia removal or corded connection to an electrical port. Alternatively,the article of luggage 102 may draw power from an external power source.

In accordance with various embodiments, memory unit 118 may be acomputer-readable non-transitory storage device that may include anysuitable combination of volatile memory (e.g., a random access memory(RAM) or non-volatile memory (e.g., battery-backed RAM, FLASH). Memoryunit 118 may be configured to store instructions executable on one ormore processors of control unit 114, such as those describing thevarious methods and techniques further discussed below, for example.These instructions may include machine-readable instructions that, whenexecuted by control unit 114, cause control unit 114 to perform variousacts as described herein. Memory unit 118 may also be configured tostore any other suitable data used in conjunction with article ofluggage 102, such as data received from one or more of electronicdevices 104 and/or remote database 106 via communications module 112.

Memory unit 118 may include a first portion implemented as integrated,non-removable memory and a second portion implemented as a removablestorage device, such as a removable memory card. For example, memoryunit 118 may include a SD card that is removable from article of luggage102 and a flash memory that is not removable from article of luggage102.

As mentioned above, sensor module 110 is coupled to firearm compartment108 and is operable to detect a presence of the firearm in thecompartment. In embodiments, firearm compartment 108 may be shut into aclosed configuration via a fastener such as one or more zippers, clasp,buttons, snaps, or magnets. Sensor module 110 may mechanically and/orelectronically detect the closed configuration or an open configuration,in which the fastener(s) are not engaged. In embodiments, the sensormodule 110 may detect the open or closed configuration of firearmcompartment 108 via electronic coupling to the fastener(s).

Further, control unit 114 may receive an indication of the open and/orclosed configurations of firearm compartment 108 from sensor module 110to determine if a firearm is present within the compartment. In responseto detecting the closed configuration, control unit 114 may transmit afirearm presence indication to an electronic device 104 viacommunication module 112. Additionally or alternatively, the firearmcompartment 108 may be physically and/or electronically locked via anystructure or mechanism that may be detected by sensor module 110.Control unit 114 may, in such an embodiment, determine the presence of afirearm when the firearm compartment 108 is secured by the lockingmechanism.

In some embodiments, the method by which the firearm compartment 108 isfastened or closed may be integrated with one or more sensors thatdetect the presence or absence of the firearm. For example, anembodiment of the invention employs magnets sewn into either edge of themouth of a compartment designed for carrying a firearm. Sensors situatedbetween or around the magnets make contact while the compartment remainsclosed, completing a circuit. Upon opening the compartment, the circuitis broken, alerting the sensor module 110 that the firearm has likelybeen removed from the firearm compartment 108. A similar structure maysubstitute clasps or buttons in place of magnets, but otherwise functionin a similar manner.

Fasteners may be controlled by the control unit 114 of the article ofluggage 102 and/or electronic device 104 to act as a mobile gun safe,restricting access to the compartment and any firearms inside whilelocked. In embodiments, a fastener may require a security code,biometric input, keycard, or any other method of identification input tothe application or control input mechanisms on the backpack to releasethe fastener(s) and open the compartment. A firearm compartment 108 maybe locked or unlocked remotely via the application, and may depend onthe sensed GPS location of the article of luggage and/or electronicdevice.

In another embodiment, firearm compartment 108 may comprise a pluralityof walls configured to collapse inward when the compartment is empty. Asillustrated in FIG. 4, a pair of walls 122 is configured to exert forceinwards towards one another, into a collapsed configuration when afirearm 120 is not contained within the compartment. The force may beprovided by any mechanical and/or electronic means, such as springs,fabric, actuators, or magnets. When a firearm 120 is placed into firearmcompartment 108 between walls 122, the walls are forced apart from oneanother into an expanded configuration. In embodiments, sensor module110 is operable to sense the expanded configuration and the collapsedconfiguration, allowing control unit 114 to determine the presence of afirearm 120 when the walls 122 are in the expanded configuration. Thismay be an alternative or addition to the fastener and securing methodsabove. In some embodiments, control unit 114 may determine the presenceof a firearm 120 only if combinations of the described conditions thatmay be detected by sensor module 110 are received.

The example of FIG. 4 is not intended to be limiting. Walls 122 may beconfigured in any appropriate manner to enter an expanded configurationand a collapsed configuration. In some embodiments, the collapsedconfiguration is not completely closed, with a gap remaining betweenwalls 122. In some embodiments, the expanded configuration may be heldby mechanical or electronic structures such that the walls 122 do notcompress firearm 120. Embodiments may comprise any number of walls 122configurable into expanded and collapsed configurations.

Sensor module 110 may detect the presence of a firearm in the firearmcompartment 108 in a number of alternative ways. In an embodiment, acircuit may be completed only when a firearm 120 is contained in thecompartment 108 or when the compartment 108 is closed. Sensor module 110may detect the completion of the circuit to inform control unit 114 thata firearm is present. In another embodiment, sensor module 110 maycomprise structures operable to electromagnetically sense a firearm,such as a metal detector or variable capacitance capacitor. Sensormodule 110 may be as sophisticated as an optical detector using visualrecognition techniques and/or laser reflectometry, or may be as simpleas a manual user input indicating the presence of a firearm. Forexample, in embodiments, a user may press a button or flip a switchcomprising sensor module 110 upon placing a firearm 120 into firearmcompartment 108, indicating to control module 114 that a firearm ispresent.

In embodiments of the invention, the control unit 114 and/or electronicdevice 104 may be operable to present an alert to a user when a firearm120 is removed from firearm compartment 108, e.g., when sensor module110 no longer detects the presence of a previously detected firearm.Additionally or alternatively, control unit 114 and/or electronic device104 may be operable to present an alert to a user when the communicationlink between the communication module 112 of article of luggage 102 andelectronic device 104 is lost. This may indicate to a user, forinstance, that the communication module 112 is struggling to maintainthe communication link, that the article of luggage 102 has be leftbehind or misplaced, or that the article of luggage may have beenstolen. This alert may be presented immediately upon interruption of thecommunication link, after a period of time with a communication link,after a set number of interruptions, or after a set number ofunsuccessful attempts to communicate.

Additionally or alternatively, as shown in FIG. 5, an alert may bepresented in embodiments of the invention when the geographic locationof the system indicates that the system has entered or is about to entera restricted carriage location. The geographic location of the system isdetected, in embodiments, by a location-sensing module in article ofluggage 102 and/or electronic device 104. In embodiments, alocation-sensing module may use any Global Navigation Satellite System(GNSS) protocol, to determine a geographic location of the system. Themodule may be configured to utilize “Assisted Global Positioning System”(A-GPS), by receiving communications from a combination of base stations(that may be incorporated as part of a communication network) and/or oneor more from satellites. Examples of suitable global positioningcommunications protocol may include Global Positioning System (GPS), theGLONASS system operated by the Russian government, the Galileo systemoperated by the European Union, or the BeiDou system operated by theChinese government.

A restricted carriage location may be any area, region, building,property, municipality, address, or other space that has official orunofficial restrictions on the carriage of sensitive cargo, such as afirearm. A set of restricted carriage locations may be contained withinmemory unit 118 of article of luggage 102, a memory of electronic device104, and/or stored at remote database 106 and accessible by control unit114. A set of restricted carriage locations may be provided as GPScoordinates, addresses, buildings, regions, or any other indication ofan area. In embodiments, a set of restricted carriage locationsindicative of a list of known restricted carriage locations may bestored on memory unit associated with the control unit 114 of luggage102, the device 104, and/or remote database 106 by a provider of luggage102, an application running on electronic device 104, and/or a thirdparty. In some embodiments, the list of restricted carriage locationsmay be provided, at least in part, by a local, state, or nationalgovernment entity.

For instance, a set may include any or all of a bank property, anairport property, a school property, a hospital property, and agovernment property. Additionally or alternatively, locations in the setmay indicate a government jurisdiction, such as the borders of a city,county, state, country, park, campus, or reservation. In embodiments, aset of restricted carriage locations may be retrieved once orperiodically by the luggage 102 or device 104 from the remote database106 for local access, or may be accessed from the remote database 106upon each use of the set.

As an example, an owner may be carrying an article of luggage 102 formedas a briefcase containing a pistol in a firearm compartment 108. Thearticle of luggage includes a communication module 112 operative toestablish a communication link with the owner's cell phone. A sensorunit is able to detect the presence of the pistol based on collapsiblewalls having an expanded configuration. Subsequently, the control unit114 transmits a firearm presence indication to the cell phone. In thisexample, the user's phone is operable to detect the geographic locationof the system. In alternative embodiments, the article of luggage mayperform the detection of the geographic location of the system. Uponsensing a geographic location indicating that the owner has entered oris entering a restricted carriage location such as a bank, an alert ispresented to the owner on the cell phone indicating that the carriedfirearm entered a restricted carriage location. An example of such analert is illustrated in FIG. 5. The cell phone may present a textualalert along with sound, colored and/or flashing lights, vibration, orany other attention-grabbing output. The user, realizing their mistake,may leave and secure the firearm in an appropriate location beforereturning to the bank to conduct business.

The textual alert illustrated in FIG. 5 is intended only as an exampleand is not meant to be limiting. In additional or alternative examples,an alert may be presented as an email, automated phone call, or SMS textmessage. In some embodiments, a user of the device may not be directlyalerted at all, but rather an alert is presented as an entry on a datalog at a remote database 106. Any or all of the above alerts may bepresented to the owner of the article of luggage 102 and/or a list ofadditional recipients that may be custom entered.

Additionally or alternatively, locations in the set of restrictedcarriage locations may be provided and/or added via custom entry by anowner of the article of luggage 102 or another. For example, an owner ofan article of luggage may want to be notified if they enter the home ofa relative who does not want firearms in their house while carrying afirearm. The owner may add the address of the relative's house to thelist of restricted carriage locations through an application running onthe electronic device 104 or a web portal. This is intended only as anexample and is not meant to be limiting. Custom restricted carriagelocations could be input by anyone via indications other than physicaladdress, such as by the name of the location, a set of GPS coordinates,a range from a single GPS point, or by drawing a shape on a graphicaldisplay of a map. Regardless of method of inputting the indication, thenew restricted carriage location is added to the set of restrictedcarriage locations to be checked for restricted carriage conditions inthe future.

In a further embodiment, comparison of the geographic location of thesystem to the set of restricted carriage locations, whether providedfrom a pre-generated list or custom input, may be dependent on a timeand/or date. For example, a concerned parent may configure their ownhome as a restricted carriage location during hours and days whenchildren are present as a reminder to remove a firearm from the articleof luggage 102 and secure it in a gun safe. In another example, a policeofficer may wish to receive an alert of the presence of a firearm in anarticle of luggage only on days the officer is off-duty. The time anddate dependence of restricted carriage locations may be stored at any orall of the article of luggage 102, electronic device 104, and remotedatabase 106.

Returning to the example of the briefcase unknowingly containing afirearm being carried into a bank, the owner in such a situation maydesire that an alert be presented of an eminent restricted carriagecondition prior to actually entering the bank. This functionality wouldbe of particular benefit in situations where there could be legalramifications to entering the premises in possession of a firearm, suchas in the case of an airport. In embodiments of the invention, thesystem may determine a restricted carriage condition and present analert when a firearm is present and the geographic location of thesystem is not yet within a restricted carriage location, but rather iswithin a threshold proximity of a restricted carriage location.

A threshold proximity may be predefined by the provider of the articleof luggage 102 or an application running on electronic device 104, ormay be custom entered by a user in the same manner as the customrestricted carriage locations, discussed above. A user may select athreshold proximity distance in feet, miles, meters, or any other unitfrom a restricted carriage location that they wish to receive alerts.

Threshold proximities may vary by particular restricted carriagelocation, type of restricted carriage location (e.g. school, airport,bank, hospital), time, and/or date. Multiple threshold proximities maybe active at once for any or all restricted carriage locations, with thesame or varying levels and types of alert presented for crossing each.For example, a purely textual alert may be presented for coming within amile of a government building while in possession of a firearm, while amore intense alert with vibration, sound, and flashing lights may bepresented if the firearm is taken within 100 feet. In another example,the threshold proximity for a library may be set to 10 meters, whilethreshold proximities for airports are set at 10 meters, 50 meters, 1kilometer, and 2 kilometers.

A further example employing threshold proximities to present an alert ofa restricted carriage condition is illustrated in FIG. 6. The locationof school 124 is included in the set of restricted carriage locations tohelp prevent a user from accidentally entering the school carrying abackpack containing a firearm. In this example, lower thresholdproximity 126 has been set to 50 feet to inform the owner of thebackpack of a restricted carriage condition before he or she actuallyenters the school 124. Additionally, the owner has also configured thesystem 100 to provide another, less intense alert when the backpack iscarried within a higher threshold proximity 128 of 1,000 feet for allschools in the set of restricted carriage locations. However, as seen inFIG. 6, a road 130 located near school 124 passes within the higherthreshold proximity 128. Setting the higher threshold proximity to theillustrated distance would cause the system 100 to provide an alert ifan owner merely drove past school 124 on road 130 with the firearmcontained in an article of luggage 102. For this reason, the user inthis example may choose to reduce the higher threshold proximity 128only for school 124 to 800 feet, so that the system 100 will not providean alert when driving on road 130. Additionally, the user may set thisreduced higher threshold proximity to only be active on days and/ormonths during which children are likely in attendance at school 124.

While reference has been made above to the various components andtechniques of embodiments of the invention, the description that followswill provide further examples systems and processes that may be added inembodiments of the invention. The description below is intended tomerely exemplify steps that may be taken in practice of operation ofembodiments of the invention and is not intended to be limiting. Stepsthat may be performed in practice of some embodiments of the inventionare illustrated in FIG. 7 and herein described.

FIG. 7 illustrates the steps that may be performed in operation of anembodiment of the invention. These steps may be performed in any order,and some steps may be performed simultaneously.

The operation 700 of FIG. 7 may begin at any of steps 702, 704, 706, or708. At step 702, communication module 112 establishes a connectionbetween article of luggage 102 and one or more electronic devices 104.In embodiments, the establishment of the communication link may beinitiated and/or governed by a processor in electronic device 104,communicating with the communication module 112. In embodiments, thecommunication link may be a wireless near-field communication protocolsuch as near-field communication scheme such as Bluetooth™. Alternativeembodiments may employ a wire to establish the communication link, suchas a USB cord. The communication module 112 is operable to transmitinformation to the electronic device 104, and may be operable to receiveinformation from either or both of electronic device 104 and remotedatabase 106.

At step 704, control unit 114 acquires a status of the article ofluggage 102. In embodiments, this status is a presence of a firearm infirearm compartment 108, detected by sensor module 110. The sensormodule may, for example, detect the closure of a fastener coupled tofirearm compartment 108 or an expanded configuration of a plurality ofwalls 122 in firearm compartment 108. Additionally or alternatively, astatus of article of luggage 102 may be an active state or powered stateof the luggage. A status may indicate whether the article of luggage 102is stationary or in motion using a location sensor, gyroscope, and/orone or more accelerometers. A status may indicate the orientation of anarticle of luggage, using an instrument such as inclinometer. In anotherembodiment, communication module 112 may transmit a status to electronicdevice 104 indicating that article of luggage 102 is locked and/orsecured.

For this example, the status of a presence of a firearm in firearmcompartment 108 is detected by sensor module 110 at step 704. At step710, the status is transmitted to the electronic device linked in step702 by communication module 112 under the control of control unit 114.The status may be transmitted one or more times. In embodiments, thestatus is transmitted as a firearm presence indication periodicallyuntil a receipt response is received from electronic device 104.

At step 706, a set of restricted carriage locations is accessed bycontrol unit 114 and/or a processor of electronic device 104. The set ofrestricted carriage locations may be stored at any or all of memory unit118 in article of luggage 102, a memory component of an electronicdevice 104, and/or remote database 106. In embodiments, a set ofrestricted carriage locations stored at memory unit 118 or theelectronic device 104 may be downloaded and/or updated from remotedatabase 106 on or more times. In embodiments, this is done at regularperiodic intervals.

The set of restricted carriage locations indicate areas in whichsensitive cargo, such as a firearm, should not be carried or require acertification to carry, such as a concealed carry license. The set ofrestricted carriage locations may be time and/or date dependent. A useror other entity may manually or automatically add locations to or removelocations from the set of restricted carriage locations, for instance toreflect changes in regulations or to add custom locations. Restrictedcarriage locations may be added, for example, by address, longitude andlatitude, or searching a list of building names.

At step 708, the geographic location of the system 100 is determinedusing a location-sensing component in article of luggage 102 and/orelectronic device 104. The location-sensing component may determine thesystem's exact location, such as using a GPS locator, may estimate thesystem's location, for instance based on strength of nearbycommunication towers. Alternatively the system 100 may use a stored lastknown geographic location when other location determination services areunavailable. The location may be determined at any level of specificityand any periodicity.

At step 712, the sensed geographic location determined in step 708 iscompared to the set of restricted carriage locations accessed in step706. The comparison may involve matching of GPS coordinates or boundaryoverlap algorithms. These are intended only as examples. Any method bywhich the sensed geographic location of the system may be compared toeach location in the set of restricted carriage locations to determineif the system 100 has entered a restricted carriage location is intendedfor inclusion in embodiments of the invention.

For example, in some embodiments a restricted carriage location may bedefined within any property belonging to an entity with knownregulations on the carriage of sensitive cargo such as a firearm. Inanother embodiment, a restricted carriage condition may be determinedonly if there is an exact match between the sensed geographic locationof the system and a location in the set of restricted carriagelocations. In any embodiment, this comparison may be performed by aprocessor of an electronic device 104 and/or the control unit 114 of thearticle of luggage 102.

At step 714, a processor of an electronic device 104 and/or the controlunit 114 of the article of luggage 102 determines a restricted carriagecondition based at least in part on the status acquired in step 704 andthe comparison of the sensed geographic location of the system to theset of restricted carriage locations performed in step 712. In oneexample, a restricted carriage condition if the communication module 112transmits a firearm presence indication and the system is determined tobe in a restricted carriage location. In another embodiment, arestricted carriage condition may be determined if the system 100 iswithin a threshold proximity of a restricted carriage location and thearticle of luggage 102 is turned on.

At step 716, an alert is presented of the restricted carriage conditiondetermined in step 714. As discussed above, the alert may in the form ofany or all of a textual alert, SMS text, email, vibration, sound,lights, graphics, report to a database, or automated telephone call. Insome embodiments, one or more alerts may be logged and stored for reviewat the article of luggage 102, electronic device 104, and/or remotedatabase 106. The alert may be presented to a pre-defined list ofrecipients, such as a set of telephone numbers, email addresses, orlinked electronic devices.

FIG. 8 illustrates a further example of steps that may be performed inoperation of one or more embodiments of the invention. These steps maybe performed in any order, and some steps may be performedsimultaneously. The steps of FIG. 8 may be performed in addition to orin alternative to any other steps or methods described above.

The operation 800 of FIG. 8 begins at step 802, at which the presence ofa firearm is detected in an article of luggage 102. The firearm may bedetected using any of the methods or structures described above, or anyother appropriate means by which the presence of a sensitive cargo mightbe detected.

At step 804, a communication link is established between electronicdevice 104 and communication module 112 in article of luggage 102. Thelink may be maintained continuously, periodically established, orestablished only upon detecting the presence of a firearm in step 802 inorder to conserve power. At step 806, a firearm presence indication istransmitted to electronic device 104 via the communication link. Thefirearm presence indication may be any electronic signal that indicatesto the electronic device 104 that sensor module 110 has detected afirearm in firearm compartment 108.

At step 808, the electronic device determines a restricted carriagecondition based at least in part on the received firearm presenceindication from step 806. In some embodiments, the restricted carriagecondition may be based solely on the firearm presence indication,without other necessary factors or considerations. In other embodiments,the electronic device may take other factors or considerations intoaccount, such as the time, date, sensed geographic location, preferencesentered into an application running on the electronic device, and/or aset of restricted carriage locations. If no restricted carriagecondition is detected, the method may quit at step 810 in someembodiments. Otherwise, the method continues to step 812.

At step 812, in response to a restricted carriage condition determinedin step 808, an alert is presented by system 100. In some embodiments,the alert is presented directly on the one or more electronic devices104 to a user that is also in possession of the article of luggage 102.Additionally or alternatively, alerts may be presented to otherindividuals at remote locations, and/or may cause an entry to be createdon remote database 106.

After presentation of an alert, the method may return to step 808, inwhich the restricted carriage condition is determined once again basedat least in part on a firearm presence indication from the article ofluggage 102. In embodiments, the method may return to step 808 only if afactor or consideration such as the time, date, sensed geographiclocation of the system 100, preferences entered into an applicationrunning on the electronic device, or set of restricted carriagelocations has been modified or updated in some way. In an embodiment,step 812 may return to the determination of step 808 if the alertpresented is not responded to in a defined manner, perhaps within alimited period of time. In other embodiments, the method may quit atstep 810 after one or more presentations of the alert. The number ofalerts presented before quitting may be customized by a user of thearticle of luggage 102 in embodiments of the invention.

In some embodiments, the control unit 114 may be configured toautomatically lock and/or secure the firearm compartment 108 when arestricted carriage condition is determined in any of the describedmethods. Additionally or alternatively, the control unit 114 may beconfigured to activate an alarm system integrated into the luggage 102to make it more conspicuous, such as by sounding a siren or activatingflashing lights when a restricted carriage condition is determined.Alternatively or additionally, the control unit 114 may automaticallysend a text message or email, log an entry on a dedicated website of thetime and location of the incident, and/or contact a call-center forwhich the owner of the luggage has paid a subscription to monitor thesystem. The call-center may then alert the owner via any method and/orcontact an appropriate authority, such as a police force selected inaccordance with the GPS sensed location of the system 100.

In some embodiments, the control unit 114 of the article of luggage 102may transmit one or more test alerts to a predetermined list ofrecipients. The list of recipients and modes of contact thereof may bethe same as those that receive alerts of a restricted carriagecondition, or may be a completely separate list. These test messages maybe sent periodically, e.g. monthly, to a list of recipients to checkthat the line of communication remains valid. The periodicity of thetest message transmissions may be set by a user or provider of theluggage or an application running on an electronic device 104.

In some embodiments, the recipients of test messages are given apredetermined period, such as half an hour, to respond to the messagefor the line of communication to be deemed valid. If a recipient failsto respond within this predetermined period, the owner of the article ofluggage 102 may be notified via email, text, or any other method tocheck the status of the recipients and consider updating thepredetermined list. In some embodiments, the article of luggage 102 maybe configured to wait until the power source 116 of the backpack isfully charged or connected to a charger to perform this test.

It should be appreciated that, while the above disclosure is directedmainly to the field of firearms, some embodiments of the invention maybe applied to carriage of any sensitive cargo, such as explosives orhazardous chemicals. Embodiments of the invention may be used in anysetting or field, such as shipping or military applications. Embodimentsof the invention may be particularly applied to carriage of weaponsother than firearms, such as bows or knives. In such embodiments, theset of restricted carriage locations accessed corresponds to the type ofsensitive cargo being carried. A single embodiment may be capable ofproviding alerts for restricted carriage conditions for multiple typesof sensitive cargo, using appropriate sensing methods and sets ofrestricted carriage locations for each. The firearm field discussed ismerely exemplary and should not be construed as limiting.

Having thus described various embodiments of the invention, what isclaimed as new and desired to be protected by Letters Patent includesthe following:
 1. An article of luggage configured for carriage of afirearm by a person, the article of luggage comprising: a firearmcompartment configured to contain the firearm; a sensor module coupledto the firearm compartment; a control unit comprising a processor,wherein the control unit is operable to perform the steps of: detectinga presence of the firearm in the firearm compartment via the sensormodule; determining a current location of the article of luggage;communicating with a computer-readable non-transitory memory unit,wherein the memory unit contains a set of restricted carriage locations,wherein the memory unit further contains a threshold proximity distance,generating a first alert if the firearm is present and the currentlocation of the article of luggage is within the threshold proximitydistance for a particular restricted carriage location in the set ofrestricted carriage locations but is not within the particularrestricted carriage location; and generating a second alert if thefirearm is present and the current location of the article of luggage iswithin the particular restricted carriage location.
 2. The article ofluggage of claim 1, wherein the threshold proximity distance is custominput to the memory unit by the person.
 3. The article of luggage ofclaim 1, wherein the memory unit further contains a set of times forwhich the threshold proximity distance is valid, and wherein the step ofgenerating the first alert is only performed if the threshold proximitydistance is valid.
 4. The article of luggage of claim 1, wherein theparticular restricted carriage location is associated with a restrictedcarriage location type, and wherein the threshold proximity distance isdetermined automatically based at least in part on the restrictedcarriage location type.
 5. The article of luggage of claim 1, whereinthe particular restricted carriage location is associated with arestricted carriage location type, wherein the first alert is generatedbased at least in part on the restricted carriage location type, andwherein the second alert is generated based at least in part on therestricted carriage location type,
 6. The article of luggage of claim 1,wherein the first alert comprises an entry logged in a remote database.7. The article of luggage of claim 1, wherein the sensor modulecomprises a capacitor, and wherein a change in a capacitance of thecapacitor indicates the presence of the firearm in the firearmcompartment.
 8. The article of luggage of claim 1, wherein the memoryunit is carried by the person separately from the article of luggage;and wherein the control unit communicates wirelessly with the memoryunit.
 9. An article of luggage configured for carriage of a firearm, thearticle of luggage comprising: a firearm compartment configured tocontain the firearm; a sensor module coupled to the firearm compartment;a control unit comprising a processor, wherein the control unit isoperable to perform the steps of: detecting a presence of the firearm inthe firearm compartment via the sensor module; determining a currentlocation of the article of luggage; communicating with acomputer-readable non-transitory memory unit, wherein the memory unitcontains data identifying a restricted carriage location, wherein thememory unit further contains a first threshold proximity distance and asecond threshold proximity distance, generating a first alert if thefirearm is present and the current location of the article of luggage iswithin the first threshold proximity distance for the restrictedcarriage location but is not within the second threshold proximitydistance for the restricted carriage location; and generating a secondalert if the firearm is present and the current location of the articleof luggage is within the first threshold proximity distance and thesecond threshold proximity distance for the restricted carriagelocation.
 10. The article of luggage of claim 9, wherein the first alertcomprises a first textual alert, wherein the second alert comprises asecond textual alert, and wherein the first textual alert is distinctfrom the second textual alert.
 11. The article of luggage of claim 9,wherein the second alert comprises an audible sound and the first alertis silent.
 12. The article of luggage of claim 9, wherein second alertcomprises a vibration and the first alert does not comprise vibration.13. The article of luggage of claim 9, wherein the data identifying therestricted carriage location comprises a street address.
 14. A method ofproducing an alert of a restricted carriage condition on a systemincluding an electronic device and an article of luggage configured tocontain a firearm, the method comprising the steps of: establishing acommunication link between the electronic device and the article ofluggage; accepting a manual input from a user of an indication of apresence of the firearm; accessing a set of restricted carriagelocations; determining a threshold proximity distance for a particularlocation in the set of restricted carriage locations acquiring a currentlocation of the system from the electronic device; comparing the currentlocation of the system to the particular location; and presenting aproximity alert if the manual input indicates the presence of thefirearm and the current location of the system is within the thresholdproximity distance from the particular location.
 15. The method of claim14, wherein the indication of the presence of the firearm is input bythe user via a control input mechanism integrated into the article ofluggage.
 16. The method of claim 14, wherein the indication of thepresence of the firearm is input by the user via a user interface of theelectronic device.
 17. The method of claim 14, wherein the proximityalert is presented via the electronic device.
 18. The method of claim14, wherein the proximity alert is presented via an alarm systemintegrated into the luggage.
 19. The method of claim 14, furthercomprising the step of presenting an additional alert if the manualinput indicates the presence of the firearm and the current location ofthe system is within the particular location.
 20. The method of claim19, wherein the proximity alert comprises a first audible alert, whereinthe additional alert comprises a second audible alert, and wherein thefirst audible alert is distinct from the second audible alert.